Third to charles f



(No Model.)

W. H. J0NEs'& T. 0. GREENE. WIRE FENGE STAY.

No. 536,956. Paterited Apr. 2, 1895.

NITED STATES PATENT Er c.

TVILLIAM H. JONES AND THOMAS C. GREENE, OF LIBERTY, ASSIGNORS OF ONE- THIRD TO CHARLES F. CLEAVELAND, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

VWIRE-FENCE STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,956, dated April 2, 1895.

Application filed November 30,1894:- gerial No. 530,471- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. J ONES and THOMAS C. GREENE, residents of Liberty, in the county of Union and State of Indiana,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap- 1o pertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to an improvement in wire fences, and more particularly to an improved fence stay,the object of the invention being to so construct the stay and connect it with the fence that twisting movement of the stay will be effectually prevented.

A further object is to construct the stay and attach it to the fence in such manner that the fence can be tightened when necessary without danger of the mesh wires becoming sepa:

rated or detached from the stay.

With these objects in view the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations and arrangements of 2 5 parts, as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view showing the application of our improved stay to a wire' fence. Fig. 2 is a view of the stay. Fig. 3 is a view of the key.

Our improved stay A is made preferably of sheet metal bent V- shape in cross section so as to produce two sides a, a, which meet at the Vertical edge 6 of the stay. At the upper 3 5 end of the stay a horizontal slot 1) is made in the side, a, and in the side, a, a vertical slot 1) is formed. At the bottom of the stay the side, a, is provided with a vertical slot, 0, and the side a is made with a horizontal slot, 0. The upper stringer wire, (1, of the fence passes throughthe slots,'b', and will be prevented from escape either in a vertical or horizontal direction. The bottom stringer 01' passes in the same manner through the slots, 0, c. From this construction it will be seen that the stay has both. at the top and bottom, two bear-- ings against the stringers so that the twisting of the stay will be prevented and its proper relation to the wires of the fence always maintained. Between the ends of the stay horizontal slots, 6, are made in the edge I) of the stay, and with each of said horizontal slots,

6, vertical slots, f, made in the sides, a, a communicate, said vertical slots, f, extending both above and below the horizontal slots, e, to produce tongues g, g.

The mesh wires, h, of the fence are preferably arranged or twisted to produce a series of diamond shaped figures and inserted in the slots in the edge, I), of the stay, said wires being passed through the horizontal slots and made to enter the vertical slots behind tongues g, and the bottom mesh wire can be passed through the slots, 0, c. AkeyB (one or more) is located in the space between the sides of the stay and made to pass between the mesh wires, h, and the edge, I), of the stay.

The key B at its upper end is bent upon itself so as to produce a depending portion or hook B, which is made to pass over a mesh wire where the latter passes through the slot in the stay.

The mesh Wires may be arranged. so that one wire will pass through each slot in the edge of the stay as shown at the upper part of Fig. 1, but when it is desired to make the fence or a portion thereof more dense, two mesh wires will be passed through each slot in the edge of the stay, one wire being located behind an upwardly projecting tongue, g, and the other wire being placed behind a downwardly projecting tongue, 9, as shown at the lower portion of Fig. 1.

The key B is not necessary to maintain the mesh wires normally connected with the stay as this will be effected by the tongues, g, under ordinary conditions, but said key serves to prevent the Wires from being pushed out of the slots in the stay by stock.

The keys are not intended to be secured to the stay but are removable when it is desired to tighten the mesh wires and it is apparent that when the keys are removed for this purpose, the escape of the mesh wires from the stay will be rendered impossible by the 9 5 Our improvements are exceedingly simple IOO in construction, cheap to manufacture and effectual, in all respects in the performance of their functions.

Slight changes might be made in the details of construction of our invention without (16- parting from the spirit thereof orlimiting its scope and hence we do not wish to limit ourselves to the precise details of construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. A fence stay comprising a strip of metal constructed to form two flanges, one flange having an open slot leading to the end and the other flange having an open slot leading to the side edge, the inner ends of said slots located in substantially the same vertical and horizontal planes, substantially as set forth.

2. A fence stay consisting of a strip of metal constructed to form two flanges, each flange having a slot leading to the end and to the side edge, the inner ends of the two slots at each end of the stay located substantially in the same vertical and horizontal planes, substantially as set forth.

3. In a fence, the combination with a strip of metal bent to form two flanges and having notches formed in their folded or joined edges, said notches approximately the width of a single wire at the extreme outer opening and extended upward and downward whereby two tongues are formed to overlap two wires, of wires held in these notches beneath the upper and lower tongues, and key wire inserted be tween the tongues and the fence Wires, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VILLIAM H. JONES. THOMAS C. GREENE.

Witnesses:

O. A. LAW, H. G. RICHARDSON. 

